Paris Olympics Tennis Day 5 Picks 2024 (Wednesday 31st July)

The Olympic Games might be played over two weeks, but for the tennis players in Paris, the tournament is fast coming to a close.

We are already into the Quarter Final matches in the women's event and the men's Quarter Final matches will be set on Wednesday evening with the Gold Medals handed out this weekend. Many of the players on the Tour have already begun their hard court preparation with the US Open now less than a month away and there are two Masters events to get through before that too.

With that in mind, the Olympic Games tournament has to be fitted into the calendar every four years.

The players still playing for Medals will only be focused on what they can achieve over the next few days and both tournaments are heating up.

Plenty of attention is also being paid to the Doubles here with teams being paired that would not normally be seen for fans over the course of the season.

And winning a Doubles Gold Medal is still a huge achievement and one that players will remember for the rest of their lives so there is plenty to achieve in the coming days for all still in Paris.

Francisco Cerundolo + 3.5 games v Casper Ruud: Having a day of rest between the Second Round and Third Rounds at the Olympic Games is going to be a big deal for Francisco Cerundolo.

He won the title in Umag on Saturday and was already in action in Paris on Sunday with consecutive wins over Tomas Barrios Vera and Ugo Humbert. Beating one of the home hopes for a Medal will not have endeared Cerundolo to the Roland Garros crowd, especially as Argentina have been criticised for celebrations about French players at the end of the Copa America.

Fans can really get on top of players on these grounds, but Francisco Cerundolo has to believe he has gotten through the worst he will hear when beating a home hope in the previous Round.

Beating Casper Ruud on a clay court is a tougher challenge than seeing off Ugo Humbert and that is the bigger problem for Cerundolo in the Third Round. Over the last few years, only Rafael Nadal, Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic have been able to beat Casper Ruud, although the Norwegian has not been at his absolute best over the last month.

He was disappointingly beaten by Thiago Monteiro in his opening match in Bastad, where Ruud was also playing Doubles alongside Rafael Nadal, while the wins over Taro Daniel and Andrea Vavassori at the Olympics have perhaps been tougher than expected.

Casper Ruud is a strong clay court player and his overall numbers have been much stronger than Francisco Cerundolo's.

The serve is a critical weapon that should give Ruud the edge, but the match up with Francisco Cerundolo has been one that has given the World Number 9 problems.

This is the sixth meeting on the Tour and it is Francisco Cerundolo who leads 3-2, while he has also won two of the three matches played on the clay courts. In their most recent on the clay in Rome in 2023, Casper Ruud was the much stronger player, but even then Francisco Cerundolo was able to drag him into a competitive match and this Third Round contest in Paris may end up being the same.

In terms of the pure numbers, there really has not been much between the players and it certainly makes the games being given to the underdog appealing from a handicap point of view.

Sebastian Baez + 4.5 games v Stefanos Tsitsipas: A comfortable Second Round win over Daniel Evans helped produce a win earlier this week, but this time the decision is to oppose Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The Third Round match against Sebastian Baez is expected to be much tougher than beating the British player in the previous Round, especially with the confidence Baez will bring into any clay court match.

It has been a summer where Baez has reached the Semi Final in Hamburg and the Quarter Final in Kitzbuhel, and he has beaten Thiago Monteiro before a tougher victory over Benjamin Hassan. The wins will have grown the confidence of the World Number 18, although Sebastian Baez is going to have to serve very well to stay competitive in this match.

Stefanos Tsitsipas came through a difficult First Round match before the comfortable victory over Daniel Evans, but it has not been the year expected despite some successes. He will be the first to admit that more needs to be done if he is going to challenge the elite on the ATP Tour, although Tsitsipas has also been dealing with a couple of injuries that have just restricted his capabilities.

Playing on the clay gives him every chance of winning a Medal this week, although the potential Quarter Final against Novak Djokovic looks an extreme test.

Overlooking Sebastian Baez and thinking ahead to any potential meeting with Djokovic would be a mistake though and the Argentinian player is capable of pushing Stefanos Tsitsipas even in a losing effort.

The two previous matches between these players on the Tour have both been very competitive, although Stefanos Tsitsipas has been able to come through on the hard courts in Melbourne and the clay courts in Madrid. The last of those matches was played over twelve months ago, but Tsitsipas will be relatively confident in the match up and that may see him come through one or two critical moments during this match.

Those are the moments that could prove telling in the direction this match eventually is played out, but Sebastian Baez can stay within this bigger than expected line set for the Third Round contest.

MY PICKS: Francisco Cerundolo + 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Sebastian Baez + 4.5 Games @ 2.10 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Donna Vekic - 1.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Olympic Games Update: 6-4, + 1.90 Units (20 Units Staked, + 8.64% Yield)

Paris Olympics Tennis Day 4 Picks 2024 (Tuesday 30th July)

Ever since the draw at the French Open, I have had a feeling that Rafael Nadal would find a way to return to Roland Garros and beyond the Olympic Games.

Losing to Alexander Zverev in a competitive match might have felt a little better for Nadal and his fans when noting that the same player reached the French Open Final and was actually leading 2-1 in sets against Carlos Alcaraz.

Injury is tough to deal with from a mental point of view and Rafael Nadal will have to show a real willingness to battle through some of the pain if he is going to have one more run. He is playing in Paris at less than 100%, but the second set performance against Novak Djokovic will have just acted as a reminder of how close Nadal is to being able to challenge the top players on the Tour.

It would be a shame if his last two appearances at Roland Garros were the defeats suffered to Zverev and Djokovic, although it is better than losing to players who would not have competed with Rafael Nadal at his very best. At least those two players can say they have stood up to Nadal at his best on the clay, but the feeling remains that the Spaniard may not be quite ready to call time on his career.

His attention will turn to the Doubles Tournament the rest of the way and Novak Djokovic will continue on his path towards securing a first Gold Medal to complete his collection of trophies/medals as a tennis player.

A day of rest before the Third Round will help Djokovic, who has clearly not operating at full strength, while the draw is panning out pretty well for the former World Number 1. The main threat is still going on the other side of the draw in Carlos Alcaraz, at least at the time of writing, but Djokovic has to be feeling pretty good about his chances in Paris this week.

The women's event will already get into the Third Round action on Tuesday with the entire Round played ahead of the Wednesday Quarter Final matches.

Players will certainly begin to think about winning a Medal for their nation with two wins under their belts, but the matches look much more competitive now and this is a test for all still involved in this tournament.

Mariano Navone + 4.5 games v Lorenzo Musetti: The Olympic Games is the pinnacle for so many sports, but you cannot really say the same for tennis.

It is a reason that so many players have been willing to skip the event in order to prepare for the US Open, while others have arrived late in Paris after deciding to play tournaments to build up Ranking points. One of those late arrivals is Lorenzo Musetti who reached the Final in Umag to continue what has been an impressive summer following the French Open.

Most would expect his best results to be produced on the clay courts, but the Italian reached the Semi Final in Stuttgart on the grass and followed up with a Runners Up finish at Queen's Club before an impressive Semi Final run at Wimbledon. Confidence is clearly high right now and the performances in Umag will have just reminded Lorenzo Musetti of his capabilities on the clay courts after a pretty poor year on the surface.

In saying that, it should be noted that Lorenzo Musetti reached the Final of a couple of Challenger events around the early defeats at the Madrid and Rome Masters. He pushed Novak Djokovic to five sets in losing to the former World Number 1 in the Third Round at Roland Garros, and the run to the Final in Umag last week and the win over Gael Monfils in the First Round here will give Musetti plenty of belief.

He is looking to earn a measure of revenge over Mariano Navone who beat Musetti in the Final of the Challenger event played in Cagliari in early May.

Mariano Navone had a solid win over Nuno Borges in the First Round at the Olympic Games, and won that title in Cagliari as mentioned. However, the last couple of months have been littered with a lot more defeats than victories and that will have knocked some of the confidence, even if a couple of the losses were in competitive matches.

Like many from Argentina, Mariano Navone is very comfortable on the clay courts and that will certainly help him in this Second Round match. He has a 5-4 record on the clay when facing an opponent Ranked inside the top 50 in 2024, and that win over Lorenzo Musetti in Cagliari will certainly fuel the belief of earning an upset.

Lorenzo Musetti is playing the superior tennis of the two players since the French Open, but Navone can certainly force him to dig deep to earn a place in the Third Round the latter looks to be given enough games to be worth backing.

Camila Osorio + 4.5 games v Danielle Collins: Being a successful Junior player and being able to bring that game to the pro Tour is always a tough challenge and that has certainly been the case for Camila Osorio.

The Colombian had reached as high as Number 33 in the World Rankings a little over two years ago, but it has been a difficult twelve months and she has dropped down to World Number 83. She will be inspired to represent her nation at the Olympic Games and Camila Osorio has produced a couple of solid wins over higher Ranked opponents in each of the last two Rounds.

Those wins have to give Camila Osorio belief in her tennis and it does feel like she is being overlooked in this Third Round match.

Danielle Collins is in her final year on the Tour and finishing with an Olympic Medal would be a massive achievement, but the American is not exactly at her best on the clay courts. The First Round win over Laura Siegemund ended prematurely with injury meaning the German had to retire mid-match, while Danielle Collins came through in three sets against veteran Caroline Wozniacki on Monday.

The American did reach win the title in Charleston and the Semi Final in Rome, while she was also a Runner Up in Strasbourg. It has comfortably been her most productive year on the clay courts, which makes Danielle Collins a threat in this draw, but she does not always make her own life as easy as it could be.

Much of that is down to the fact that Collins can be very aggressive on the court and going for her shots can lead to more errors. On a surface where patience can be so important, Danielle Collins has perhaps not always had the right approach to matches and someone like Camila Osorio can extract the mistakes with her ability to move around the court.

The reality is that Danielle Collins should win the match, but covering this big mark may be tough for her if Camila Osorio maintains the form shown in the last couple of Rounds. At the very least Osorio can take a set and that may be enough to move into a position to keep this one close enough to make the handicap start a telling one.

You have to respect the fact that Collins has the tennis to blitz past anyone, but Camila Osorio is a potential banana skin and one that should be afforded more respect of her own.

MY PICKS: Mariano Navone + 4.5 Games @ 1.61 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Camila Osorio + 4.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Olympic Games Update: 5-3, + 2.68 Units (16 Units Staked, + 16.75% Yield)

Paris Olympics Tennis Day 3 Picks 2024 (Monday 29th July)

Almost the entirety of the Olympic Games First Round matches were played on Sunday and there was some very good news for fans of the sport.

One, Rafael Nadal was able to play the Singles after concerns about an injury, and two, he won.

This means Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic has been set for the Second Round on the famous French Open grounds and there is every chance that this will be the 'last dance' between two of the all-time greats.

The Second Round match is expected to be played on Tuesday so that is something for everyone to look forward to, although others in the draw will be hoping to make the sporting headlines of their own when the Second Round gets underway on Day 3 at the Paris Olympics.

With the majority of the First Round matches concluded on Sunday, some of the markets for the matches to be played on Monday may not be put together until just a few hours before the players are expected to take the court. Any selections from later in the day may have to be placed in this thread on Monday morning if those markets become available.

Saturday proved to be a tough opening day for the selections, but two winners on Sunday have at least recovered some of the losses. Hopefully that momentum can carry through into Day 3 with the selections below.

Surprisingly, since writing this little passage out, it has been announced that Djokovic vs Nadal will be played on Monday and that should only strengthen the position of the former in his bid to 'upset' the long-time dominant clay court Champion.

Novak Djokovic - 4.5 games v Rafael Nadal: It has been a little over two years since Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal last met on the Tour and it ended with a win for Nadal on the clay courts of Roland Garros. The Quarter Final victory at the French Open saw Rafael Nadal go on and win a fourteenth title in Paris and it was no surprise that he was a big part of the Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Games.

A month after winning the second Grand Slam of 2022, Rafael Nadal picked up an injury at Wimbledon and his career has been in jeopardy ever since. Earlier this season he arrived at the French Open under another injury cloud and was beaten in the First Round in what many believe is his last appearance at that Grand Slam, and a decision was made to focus on the Olympic Games on the same grounds where Nadal has stamped his mark on history.

Fourteen French Open titles are almost certainly not going to be surpassed by a single player, but Rafael Nadal is not the player he once was and has been struggling for consistency this season. Earlier this month Nadal reached the Final in Bastad in a clay court warm up tournament after missing Wimbledon, but the opponents faced are not up to the level of Novak Djokovic and bridging the gap will be tough.

This is a rivalry of the ages and the players are meeting for an incredible SIXTIETH time on Monday in the Second Round at the Olympic Games, and this is the twenty-ninth match on the clay courts. Unsurprisingly Rafael Nadal has won twenty of those matches on the surface on which he has been most comfortable, but Novak Djokovic has produced a couple of wins over the Spaniard at Roland Garros so there won't be too much intimidation.

He will respect Nadal, but Novak Djokovic is coming off a run to the Wimbledon Final and that will give him confidence as he chases a first Gold Medal. This has been a tough season for Djokovic and he is going to have to serve very well to get the better of even a compromised Nadal.

The scheduling is certainly not ideal for Rafael Nadal having played a tough match on Sunday having competed in the Doubles the previous evening. He has played a couple of matches since Novak Djokovic coasted through his own First Round match on Saturday and there is a feeling that Nadal may just have a few issues keeping his level as high as it will be needed.

Rafael Nadal is just 6-5 on the clay courts against top 100 Ranked opponents this season and has suffered some one-sided defeats.

With an opponent who will play him like he did when Nadal was at his very best, it could be a really tough Second Round match for the Spaniard. It would be so good to see Rafael Nadal find a way to get back to his best, but Novak Djokovic is still very much near his top level and the Serb can wear down his old rival and eventually cover this handicap mark set.

Stefanos Tsitsipas - 5.5 games v Daniel Evans: It was always going to be a summer in which retirement would be confirmed for Andy Murray and the body has prevented him from playing Singles at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games as hoped. Instead he is playing in the Doubles with Daniel Evans in a bid to win another Gold Medal and Evans has admitted that he is perhaps more focused on ensuring he is ready to compete for Murray, rather than having big ambitions to win a Medal as a Singles player.

It is perhaps a tall task to win a Medal anyway, especially on the clay courts, and Daniel Evans has had a tough twelve months on the Tour with his World Ranking in danger of slipping out of the top 60.

This may mean Daniel Evans is thinking about his long-term plays in a career which has been one of overachievement all things considered. Perhaps the move onto the hard courts will allow Evans to finish this season with a flourish, but he has won just three of the ten matches played on the clay courts this season.

One of those wins was in the First Round at the Olympic Games, but Evans needed three sets to beat the World Number 384 and now faces a considerable step up in class.

Stefanos Tsitsipas will be pretty disappointed with his 2024 and his hopes of winning a Grand Slam title look that much slimmer since the emergence of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at the top of the ATP Tour. It was Alcaraz who ended Stefanos Tsitsipas' time at the French Open in the Quarter Final, but the Greek player has won a title on the clay courts and is a much stronger player on the surface than Daniel Evans.

This season has been down on the numbers, especially behind serve, and Stefanos Tsitsipas also had to come through in three sets in the First Round despite heading into the opening match as a strong favourite.

It is a concern about his long-term prospects of winning a Medal at the Paris Olympics, but this is a match up that should suit Tsitsipas. He has beaten Daniel Evans in all four previous matches and that includes a couple of wins on the hard courts, while the clay is a domain that should be giving the higher Ranked player a significant edge.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has dominated the Daniel Evans serve on the clay courts, while he has won 72% of service points played. The last of the matches between these players was back in 2022 at the Paris Masters, but Stefanos Tsitsipas has had a significant edge all around and Daniel Evans may lack the motivation to change things around here.

MY PICKS: Novak Djokovic - 4.5 Games @ 1.61 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Stefanos Tsitsipas - 5.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Maria Sakkari - 5.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Olympic Games Update: 2-3, - 1.80 Units (10 Units Staked, - 18% Yield)

Paris Olympics Tennis Day 2 Picks 2024 (Sunday 28th July)

It feels like we are back in the first week of the French Open in May when the rain lashed down in Paris and really messed things around for the organisers.

Two weeks were available to ensure that Grand Slam tournament finished on schedule, but only one week is allocated to the Olympic Games where the heavy, continuous rain of Friday moved into Saturday and decimated the order of play for the day.

At least two of the courts have roofs so there were some matches completed, but all will be hoping that the upturn in the weather forecast comes true.

Increase in temperature and a bright sky is expected from Sunday through the next week, or majority of next week, and that should mean the tennis at the Olympic Games is able to be completed on time. Sunday is going to be an incredibly busy day with almost the entirety of the First Round to be played with plenty of Doubles matches likely to be scheduled too.

Another tough day of finding good picks looks to be in the offing though and so there are only two selections on Day 2 of the tournament and both from the Women's event being played.

Elina Svitolina - 5.5 games v Moyuka Uchijima: The early Rounds of the Olympic Games can have unfamiliar names entering the draw thanks to the different qualification rules as we would expect for the Tennis Tour.

Moyuka Uchijima may not be a name too familiar to fans, but this is a player operating at a career high World Ranking mark of Number 66, which will see her compete in the First Round at the US Open next month. The Japanese representative has to be afforded plenty of respect having won twenty-two of the twenty-six matches played on the clay courts in 2024, while Uchijima was able to win three Qualifiers and a First Round match at the French Open.

Ultimately the run was ended by Aryna Sabalenka and there has to be a slight feeling that Moyuka Uchijima has an inflated Ranking mark having dominated at a level below the main WTA Tour. This is backed up by the fact that this will be just the seventh match against a top 100 Ranked opponent on the clay courts and Uchijima has been beaten in four of the last six in that situation, including at the French Open as mentioned.

There is more experience of facing top 100 Ranked opponents on the other surfaces, but it has proved to be a step too far for Moyuka Uchijima who has lost 84% of her matches played against those opponents.

Her opponent in the First Round of the Olympic Games will not be lacking for motivation- Elina Svitolina has been very vocal about the issues affecting her homeland in Ukraine and being able to wear the colours of her nation is only going to have Svitolina performing with that much more inspiration.

Elina Svitolina is very comfortable on the surface having reached the Quarter Final at the French Open in consecutive tournaments and she has won six of seven matches played on this surface against opponents Ranked outside the top 50. The style of her tennis means Svitolina can be dragged into tough battles even when winning matches, and that has to be a concern with this handicap mark.

However, there is that additional motivation behind her tennis in Paris this week and Elina Svitolina is already much loved in France having married one of their top players from recent times. That support and the colours should inspire Svitolina and the feeling is that this could be the start of a very big week for the Ukrainian.

Barbora Krejcikova - 4.5 games v Sara Sorribes Tormo: When it comes to the Ladies tournament, Wimbledon has continued to throw up a surprise Champion and 2024 has proved to be no different from recent seasons.

This time it is Barbora Krejcikova who will spend the next twelve months being referred to as the Wimbledon Champion and a second Grand Slam Singles title for the Czech player has to be respected. She endured a really poor clay court campaign and Krejcikova would not have had too many backers outside of friends and family when arriving at SW19, but the win should have restored a lot of the lost confidence that injury will bring to the table.

She had been slipping down the World Rankings, but Barbora Krejcikova will arrive in Paris as the World Number 10 after winning the title at Wimbledon earlier this month. It has been a couple of weeks of rest and recovery for Krejcikova as she looks to secure a first clay court win in 2024.

It is remarkable to think Barbora Krejcikova was beaten in all four clay court matches after suffering opening defeats in Stuttgart, Madrid, Strasbourg and then at the French Open. That run is even more surprising considering Krejcikova was the 2021 French Open Champion and she will arrive back on these grounds with a bit more belief about her all around game.

All of that will be needed against Sara Sorribes Tormo who is very comfortable on the clay courts, but who has been enduring a tough twelve months filled with inconsistent results. It has pushed the Spaniard down to World Number 71 ahead of the Olympic Games, while wins have been hard to come by of late.

Sara Sorribes Tormo has lost seven of her last eight matches, which includes an opening Round defeat in Paris at the French Open and also in a tournament played below the main WTA Tour level on the clay.

Over the last couple of seasons, Sara Sorribes Tormo continues to produce the majority of her wins on the clay courts and that does make her dangerous. She had decent runs in Madrid and Rome, while reaching the Quarter Final in Rabat before the disappointing defeat at the French Open.

However, this has been a tough match up for Sorribes Tormo having lost all three sets completed against Barbora Krejcikova and failing to win more than three games in any of those. The defensive skills on a clay court might be a little tougher to produce if the expected warmer temperatures arrive in Paris and Barbora Krejcikova is much better on the clay courts than her results from earlier this season indicate.

There can be some uncertainty as to how a player will respond to winning a Grand Slam title, especially an unexpected success, but Barbora Krejcikova has taken some time off to just settle down. The same happened after her win at the French Open in 2021 and Krejcikova managed to reach the Wimbledon Fourth Round that year.

As long as she is not thinking ahead to the hard court season, Barbora Krejcikova may have the tennis to wear down Sara Sorribes Tormo and cover this handicap line set in the First Round.

MY PICKS: Elina Svitolina - 5.5 Games @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Barbora Krejcikova - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Olympic Games Update: 0-2, - 4 Units (4 Units Staked, - 100% Yield)

Paris Olympics Tennis Day 1 Picks 2024 (Saturday 27th July)

The Olympic Opening Ceremony in Paris in 2024 was... interesting... but the attention now turns to the athletes and what they are able to produce in the events scheduled.

There will be plenty of eyes on the athletics, gymnastics and swimming events, which really do earn their right to be in the spotlight at the Olympic Games, but fans of sports like basketball, boxing and tennis will certainly be tuning in for those events too.

Winning a Gold Medal may not be quite up there with winning a Grand Slam, but it is still a massive achievement and something tennis players speak about with real ambition. Paris will be no different with this being the second Olympic Games in the last four editions that will be played on the grounds where a Grand Slam is usually the focus.

It was Wimbledon in 2012, but the focus will be on Roland Garros in 2024 and the two French Open Champions are both favourites to win the Gold Medal. The men play a best of three format at the Olympic Games rather than best of five, which may offer up a chance for someone to upset Carlos Alcaraz as the tournament is played, but beating Iga Swiatek will be a massive challenge for every other player in the women's draw.

Doubles and Mixed Doubles are also played this week and we begin with a pretty loaded schedule on Saturday, which is hopefully much less wet than the day before.

The roof can be employed on the main show courts in Paris, but the last thing the organisers want is a week like the French Open had to cope with to open the second Slam of the season.

Iga Swiatek - 7.5 games v Irina-Camelia Begu: The Paris Olympic Games return to the famous courts of the French Open, the second time in four Olympic Games that the Tennis tournament will be played on the grounds of a Grand Slam tournament.

After another dominant showing on the red dirt which concluded with another French Open title, Iga Swiatek is going to be a very strong favourite to win the Gold Medal next week before the entire Tour shifts attention to the final Grand Slam of the season played in New York City beginning at the end of August.

The grass courts proved to be too much of a challenge for Swiatek, but the World Number 1 will be confident back on this surface and this looks a good First Round match for her to work her way into the tournament. Preparation for a return to the clay courts would have been outside of tournaments being played between Wimbledon and the Olympic Games, but Iga Swiatek is unlikely to need too much time to adjust.

She is facing an opponent who reached the Semi Final in a clay tournament played in Palermo in the build up to these Games, while Irina-Camelia Begu is a former World Number 22 and deserves respect. These days it has been much tougher work for Begu who is outside the top 100 of the World Rankings, but she did use her Protected Ranking to reach the Third Round at the French Open earlier this year.

The Romanian is very happy on the clay courts and her best results have been on the surface, but this is a massive step up and Irina-Camelia Begu has suffered some one-sided defeats to the likes of Danielle Collins and Karolina Muchova on the red dirt this season.

Iga Swiatek also crushed Begu when these players met at Wimbledon in 2021 and that is on the least favoured surface for the World Number 1. On the courts of Roland Garros, the Pole is expected to be that much happier and she may be able to crush this opponent and cover what is a very big handicap spread for a best of three set match.

However, it is a mark that Swiatek has regularly covered on the clay courts in her dominant time at the top and she can do the same here.

Naomi Osaka - 4.5 games v Angelique Kerber: Two former World Number 1 Ranked players meet in the opening Round at the Olympic Games and both Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber are much happier when not playing on the clay courts.

They have more in common with both players returning to the Tour in 2024 after becoming mothers, but it has always felt like Osaka may still have more to offer than 36 year old Angelique Kerber.

It has played out that way with Kerber announcing that she plans on concluding a very successful tennis career at the conclusion of her participation at the Olympic Games. Grand Slam titles have been won, but it is a very tall task for Angelique Kerber to improve on the Silver Medal she earned at the 2016 Games.

That is especially difficult on a clay court and thoughts turning to retirement may leave the German vulnerable early in the tournament against an opponent that has the qualities to return to the top of the WTA Tour.

Unsurprisingly it has been an inconsistent year for Naomi Osaka, but returning to Roland Garros may fill her with some confidence having had Match Points to beat Iga Swiatek here a couple of months ago. Hard courts might be her favourite domain, but Osaka showed she has the tools to be a threat on the clay as long as she can avoid the errors that can be a big part of her game.

Angelique Kerber is leading the head to head by four wins to two, but many of those were played at a time when the German would have been a much higher Ranked player. The most recent match was won by Naomi Osaka after a slip in her World Ranking, but there is more about the Japanese representative and she may be able to push Kerber through the door of Singles retirement after a solid victory.

Pavel Kotov - 2.5 games v Stan Wawrinka: You do have to wonder how much more Stan Wawrinka has to give a sport in which he has overachieved by winning three Grand Slam titles.

These days Wawrinka is outside of the top 100 of the World Rankings and you cannot imagine he will be wanting to fight through the Qualifiers to play in the top events on the Tour.

Consistency is always going to be difficult to maintain at the latter end of a career and Stan Wawrinka will have seen many of his peers either retire or very much in the same final furlong of their career.

The Swiss player will be looking for revenge over Pavel Kotov having been beaten by the latter on the clay courts at the French Open. This First Round match at the Olympic Games will be played on the same grounds and the expectation is that Kotov can frank the form, even though he has hardly been pulling up trees in his own recent performances.

Both players have struggled after Wimbledon with early defeats in clay court events played in Europe, but Kotov has the slightly stronger numbers. He was the better player in their match up in Paris earlier this season and the expectation is that the younger player will prevail again, even if Stan Wawrinka continues to be involved in some competitive defeats.

MY PICKS: Iga Swiatek - 7.5 Games @ 1.80 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Naomi Osaka - 4.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Pavel Kotov - 2.5 Games @ 1.95 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Wimbledon Tennis Day 14 Pick 2024- Men's Final (Sunday 14th July)

The attention of the nation might already have turned to the Euro 2024 Final, but tennis fans will at least have the opportunity to lead into that game by watching the Final of the Men's event at Wimbledon.

It looks like being a really good Final twelve months after Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic met in a five set classic in SW19 and both are going to be feeling good about their chances of success having eased through the Semi Final matches on Friday.

The tournament comes to a close, but the attention will quickly turn to the Olympic Games later this month before the players hop across the pond and prepare for the upcoming US Open which begins at the end of August as is traditional.

We should have some real interest in the Olympic Games with that tournament potentially being the last for Rafael Nadal on the famous courts of Roland Garros, while Andy Murray is another hoping to be fit enough to compete as a Singles player for the final time having missed Wimbledon to his own frustration.

The new Ladies Champion at Wimbledon is Barbora Krejcikova as we have yet another surprising winner of the tournament on the WTA side of things.

She now has as many Grand Slams as Aryna Sabalenka and more than both Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina, which is a real surprise, and Barbora Krejcikova will be heading back into the top ten of the World Rankings on Monday. It might give the former French Open Champion a chance to take some momentum into the Olympic Games back on the clay courts, but for now the Czech player will enjoy becoming Wimbledon Champion as her mentor Jana Novotna had managed to do in her career too.

Now the attention will turn to the big Men's Final between top of the top three players in the World and by the end one of the players will be holding two of the four Grand Slam titles.

Carlos Alcaraz-Novak Djokovic over 40.5 games: Twelve months ago, Carlos Alcaraz reached the Final at Wimbledon in somewhat surprising fashion considering he had been beaten relatively early at the French Open. He was the Queen's Champion, which is always a good indicator of the kind of successes a player can have at Wimbledon, but Alcaraz was the underdog against Novak Djokovic, the seven time Champion.

The Rematch is played this Sunday and this time it is the defending Champion Carlos Alcaraz set as the favourite against the former World Number 1.

A lot of Spanish fans will have eyes on this Wimbledon Final before the Euro 2024 Final is played later in the evening and they will be keen to see a Double. Despite not finding his best tennis consistently, Carlos Alcaraz has shown he has the character to come through some difficult moments in his run to the Wimbledon Final.

There is also a real feeling that Carlos Alcaraz has come through the tougher half of the draw with three wins over top 16 Ranked opponents, while the highest Ranked player Novak Djokovic has beaten is the World Number 15 Holger Rune.

Carlos Alcaraz will be the first to admit that even then, his level will have to be picked up if he is going to get the better of Novak Djokovic for a second time in a row at Wimbledon. His serving numbers have really not been up to the standard expected on a grass court and that is going to be tested by arguably the greatest return player in the history of the sport.

The Novak Djokovic return numbers have perhaps not been as strong as we have come to expect, but that might have something to do with a far more aggressive approach taken through this tournament. The knee is not one that Djokovic wants to have to take into long rallies as often as he has been known to do, and that aggression has led to more mistakes and looking to end points quicker than normal.

It is something that will likely have been noted by the Alcaraz team and they will be keen to not give too much away to Djokovic and force him into those rallies that the seven time Champion has been looking to avoid.

One area where Novak Djokovic has had more success is behind his serve with his follow up shot to that opening one looking to get into position to end points as soon as possible. His numbers have been strong throughout his run to the Final and even Lorenzo Musetti struggled to test Djokovic in the manner he would have hoped on this side of his tennis.

Novak Djokovic has only dropped serve five times throughout the fortnight at Wimbledon, whereas Carlos Alcaraz dropped serve five times in just his Third Round match. This might be key to the outcome of this match, as could the fact that Novak Djokovic has won the last two matches against the Spaniard since losing the Wimbledon Final in 2023.

Matches between the players have been intense, but Novak Djokovic has had the edge on the service numbers.

However, some of those numbers are influenced by the match at Roland Garros in 2023 when Carlos Alcaraz completely cramped up under the tension of the occasion. He is a much stronger player now and this has all of the makings of another Wimbledon epic.

There will be plenty of fans hoping the match is perhaps not quite as intense as the almost five hours spend on court last season (with the fear it would potentially begin to encroach towards the Euro 2024 Final kick off), but another four setter has to be the minimum expectation.

Last season there were two sets that ended in 6-1 scores, which could make it hard to cover the total line in this one if it does indeed conclude in four sets.

With the way both Alcaraz and Djokovic are playing, it would be a surprise if we do see those one-sided sets again, especially after their battle at Cincinnati last August.

Novak Djokovic perhaps looks an appealing underdog, but he has not really bettered too many of his rivals so far this season and this is a big step up compared with previous opponents played.

Being slightly more battle-hardened should aid Carlos Alcaraz, but the real expectation is for another very competitive match between players from different generations. They should both contribute to a strong Final in which both players will win a set and that should put this match well on the way to surpass the total games line in this one.

MY PICKS: Carlos Alcaraz-Novak Djokovic Over 40.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Wimbledon Update: 21-21, - 5.44 Units (84 Units Staked, - 6.48% Yield)

Wimbledon Tennis Day 13 Pick- Ladies Final (Saturday 13th July)

We have gotten the Men's Final that most would have hoped for when the Wimbledon tournament began, but the unexpected Ladies Final is first up this weekend.

Once again it has been a wide open event and two players with Grand Slam Final experience will be meeting, even if picking both Finalists would have been a challenge beyond the vast majority of fans.

Going back to my Day 1 Picks, the players in the outright market that were highlighted outside of the obvious favourites included Lorenzo Musetti at 100-1 and Jasmine Paolini at 66-1.

While the Italian men's challenger came up short, those who did back the latter will be in a very strong position come Saturday.

Barbora Krejcikova - 1.5 games v Jasmine Paolini: The last time these two players met on the Tour, Barbora Krejcikova was the World Number 128 and Jasmine Paolini was the World Number 156. That match was in the First Qualifying Round at the 2018 Australian Open, but suffice to say this is a much bigger stage for the two players to be competing on in 2024.

When they play one another on Saturday in the Wimbledon Final, both players are guaranteed to be in the top 14 of the World Rankings when the new numbers are released on Monday. It is Jasmine Paolini, the new World Number 5, who is the higher Ranked, but Barbora Krejcikova has been given the edge in the Final by those putting the odds together.

You cannot argue with that as the two surprising former French Open Finalists meet- Barbora Krejcikova was able to win the title when reaching the Final, while Jasmine Paolini came up a little short against Iga Swiatek last month, but being a former Grand Slam Champion is certainly going to be a potential factor in favour of Krejcikova.

Winning the title would actually push Barbora Krejcikova back into the top 10 and she will certainly feel she has been playing strong tennis this week.

The tournament did start slowly and there were nerves early in the Semi Final, but the way the Czech player was able to turn things around against Elena Rybakina will serve her well. The match up in this one is very different with Jasmine Paolini not having the kind of power that the former Wimbledon Champion possesses, and certainly a stronger defender, but beating a former Champion will certainly make Barbora Krejcikova play with some confidence.

Both players are happy to play in the Ladies Doubles at Grand Slam level and so there is a feeling that this is going to be a fun match to watch.

A key for Barbora Krejcikova is to serve well and try and keep Jasmine Paolini under pressure, although the Italian has continued to play with the confidence and character to never be out of a match.

She has turned around some tough moments throughout this Wimbledon run and has become the first women's player to reach both the French Open and Wimbledon Final in the same season since Serena Williams eight years ago. Any time you are in a conversation with Williams, you know you are doing something right and Jasmine Paolini has shown her fortitude in her wins over Madison Keys and Donna Vekic when things looked to have moved beyond her.

In saying that, Paolini has perhaps benefited from both of those players picking up injuries during the match which changed the momentum of the contest. That was certainly the case against Madison Keys who led 5-2 in the deciding set and had two opportunities to serve out the match.

Jasmine Paolini is a fighter though and her movement around the court will extract errors- the serve can be a vulnerability and it is a Final that could really come down to the Barbora Krejcikova racquet and how much control she has on her unforced error count.

Keeping those as contained as possible is key and it does feel like the edge is with the former French Open Champion over the 2024 Finalist.

There are likely to be a number of breaks of serve and this might be the third Wimbledon Ladies Final in four years that needs a deciding set. The narrow edge has to be with Barbora Krejcikova who may be able to get through a couple of service games with a bit more ease and that may just build enough pressure on Jasmine Paolini to see the Italian come up slightly short in a second Grand Slam Final in a row.

MY PICKS: Barbora Krejcikova - 1.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Wimbledon Update: 20-21, - 7.18 Units (82 Units Staked, - 8.76% Yield)

Wimbledon Tennis Day 12 Picks 2024 (Friday 12th July)

With the Ladies Final set for Saturday, attention will turn to the Men's Semi Final matches on Day 12 of Wimbledon.

Three of the top five players are involved, while Lorenzo Musetti is looking to really make a massive statement by reaching his first Grand Slam Final in what has been a very good month of tennis for him.

He is the surprise of the Men's tournament, but Musetti is hoping to join his compatriot Matteo Berrettini in reaching a Wimbledon Final, while the bigger task is to try and become the second Italian to win a Grand Slam this season after Jannik Sinner was able to do that in Australia.

Beating Novak Djokovic is still the ultimate challenge in a best of five set format, while the other Semi Final between Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev is a repeat of a Semi Final played at Wimbledon last year.

Novak Djokovic - 6.5 games v Lorenzo Musetti: Italian Tennis has been experiencing a real boost over the last few years with some big names on the ATP Tour. Jasmine Paolini is making an impact on the WTA Tour and now Lorenzo Musetti is once again sharing some of the limelight of Jannik Sinner by returning to the top 20 in the World Rankings and gearing up for his first Grand Slam Semi Final.

He came through a battle in the Quarter Final against Taylor Fritz, but that win has continued what has been a fine month of grass court tennis.

Lorenzo Musetti is still only 22 years old and so it is perhaps no surprise that there has been a slight stagnation to the development on the Tour. Thirteen months ago he reached a career high World Ranking, but it has not been the easiest year on the Tour and that is why he had slipped out of the top 20.

Poor Grand Slam results have not helped, but Musetti has taken the form from reaching the Queen's Club Final and brought that with him on the short journey to Wimbledon. Overall the performances have been impressive, but the Italian has also had to show his battling qualities with a couple of five set wins and also being able to recover when behind.

All of that is likely going to be tested by Novak Djokovic who will be keenly listening out for boos instead of Muus from the Centre Court crowd.

The seven time Wimbledon Championc continues to feel that crowds are not offering the respect that he deserves, although there remains a real feeling that Novak Djokovic is just trying to fuel his motivation even further. Being given a Bye to the Quarter Final might feel like a bonus for Djokovic, who had come into the Wimbledon tournament with fitness doubts, and having three full days of recovery between matches within a Grand Slam tournament is a huge boost for his chances of matching Roger Federer's eight wins in SW19.

Things have not gone completely his way at Wimbledon, but Novak Djokovic's dominant win over Holger Rune in the Fourth Round suggests he is rounding into form. No one is going to question the grass court pedigree of the former World Number 1 and Novak Djokovic deserves to be a relatively strong favourite in this Semi Final.

However, the Serb is not going to take anything for granted against a player who has twice been one set away from beating him at a Grand Slam.

Both of those matches were at Roland Garros in 2021, when Lorenzo Musetti really announced himself to a wider audience while leading Novak Djokovic 2-0, and earlier this year when Musetti lost the first set, but won two in a row in the Third Round.

Novak Djokovic was able to turn both matches around and he will also note that those were played on clay, the favoured surface of Lorenzo Musetti.

Two previous hard court matches have both ended in favour of Djokovic with some relative comfort attached and even the slightly slower grass court of Centre Court is unlikely to change things too much. It is the first time Lorenzo Musetti will be playing on the main court of Wimbledon, although handling the occasion is something he has the temperament to do.

The bigger question is having the tennis to beat Novak Djokovic and that seems unlikely right now, even after an impressive win over Taylor Fritz in the Quarter Final.

There is just so much more solidness about Novak Djokovic's all around game compared with Fritz and that is likely to show up. The favourite has the better serving consisteny and Novak Djokovic is just as capable of exerting returning pressures like Lorenzo Musetti.

In their previous matches, there has been a clear edge in favour of Novak Djokovic when it comes to holding serve and he may just wear down the younger player and cover what is a big handicap mark all things considered.

Carlos Alcaraz - 4.5 games v Daniil Medvedev: The grass courts have frustrated Daniil Medvedev at times and he is still mostly in love with the hard courts, but his recent runs at Wimbledon may just have shown the World Number 5 how capable he is on this surface.

In reality Daniil Medvedev is a pretty solid player on all surfaces and it would be a real shame for him and his brand of tennis if he is not able to add to the US Open he won in 2021.

There is no doubt that he has had his chances- Daniil Medvedev should have won the very next Grand Slam at the Australian Open- and a consistent performer on the Tour has now reached the Semi Final in four of the last five Slams played. He was leading by two sets again in the Final at the Australian Open earlier this year before coming up short and so Daniil Medvedev may still feel he has something to prove.

That defeat came against Jannik Sinner, but it was Medvedev who beat the Italian in the Quarter Final here, although the challenges do not get any easier.

Next up is the defending Champion and Carlos Alcaraz continues to show that he can battle through difficult moments on his way to his successes. Winning the French Open-Wimbledon double has proven to be a huge challenge throughout the years, but Carlos Alcaraz is playing with a real determination and will to win and this is a match up that will not concern him.

It has not been the most convincing of runs and the Spaniard has dropped one set in each of his last two wins, while needing to come through in five sets in the Third Round against Frances Tiafoe. The level did increase as he overwhelmed Queen's Champion Tommy Paul in the Quarter Final after a slow start and that kind of performance will give Carlos Alcaraz full belief that he can go on and win the title here again.

The serve is not working quite as well as it was twelve months ago and that will need to be improved if Carlos Alcaraz is going to defend his title. Each of his last three opponents have been able to fashion at least ten Break Points and giving up that many chances is always going to be dangerous, even if Carlos Alcaraz has the returning ability to make up for that.

He will know that a poor serving day could lead to problems, as it did when losing to Danill Medvedev at the US Open last year as the defending Champion.

In saying that, it is a match that has been the exception in recent meetings between Medvedev and Alcaraz and that gives the latter a significant mental edge.

Last year it was Carlos Alcaraz who beat Daniil Medvedev in pretty routine fashion in the Wimbledon Semi Final and he has also won two matches against this opponent since the US Open defeat. This means Alcaraz has won four of the last five against Daniil Medvedev and so the onus really is on the underdog to change things around.

He put in a lot to beat Jannik Sinner in the Quarter Final, although fatigue is not expected to be an issue with that match being played on Tuesday and this Semi Final taking place on a Friday.

Back in 2021, Daniil Medvedev did beat Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in a big straight sets victory, but things have changed between the players since then. On that day, Medvedev broke the Alcaraz serve seven times, but he has managed to do that just six times combined in the next five matches played and this feels like a match that is very much going to be played on the Alcaraz racquet.

There is room for improvement for Carlos Alcaraz, but the comfort within this match up should help in encouraging that and he can win and cover over the course of this contest.

MY PICKS: Novak Djokovic - 6.5 Games @ 1.91 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Carlos Alcaraz - 4.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Wimbledon Update: 19-20, - 6.62 Units (78 Units Staked, - 8.49% Yield)

Wimbledon Tennis Day 11 Picks 2024 (Thursday 11th July)

It is Semi Final day on Thursday with both Ladies last four matches played on the same day.

The tournament has reached the business end and the third Grand Slam of the season is ready to be handed out.

Jasmine Paolini - 2.5 games v Donna Vekic: Despite having a longer career in the limelight, Donna Vekic is going to be the more inexperienced player in this surprising Wimbledon Semi Final from the bottom half of the Ladies tournament.

With a career best World Ranking of Number 19, Donna Vekic has perhaps not reached the kind of level that most tipped for her when she broke through onto the WTA Tour. She is only 28 years old now, but Donna Vekic played in the US Open Qualifiers all the way back in 2012 and her first main draw match at a Grand Slam a few months later at the Australian Open in 2013.

Injuries haven't always helped, but Vekic has perhaps struggled mentally when she has put decent runs together at the biggest events. The Croatian has made it through to her first Grand Slam Semi Final this week having previously reached just a couple of Quarter Finals, while it is quite amazing to note that Donna Vekic has never made the Quarter Final in any of the WTA 1000 events that are played throughout the year.

Her opponent in this Semi Final is a late bloomer on the Tour, but Jasmine Paolini is going to be playing with the confidence of a player that reached the French Open Final last month. Some fortune has been behind this run, most notably in her Fourth Round win over Madison Keys who picked up an injury while leading 5-2 in the third set, but Jasmine Paolini showed her class by completely dominating Emma Navarro in the Quarter Final.

This is a different kind of challenge against a player like Donna Vekic who can serve big and put some huge groundstrokes together- it will be a similar kind of match as the one that Paolini faced against Madison Keys.

Just like Keys, Donna Vekic can go through moments where the radar is out of sync leading to unforced errors and she will know that Jasmine Paolini is likely going to bring a consistent brand of tennis to the court.

You also have to factor in the amount of time Vekic has spent on the court in the last few days with each of the last three matches needing three sets and two of them being played into a third hour.

Jasmine Paolini has won two of the three previous matches between the players and both wins have been on a hard court, which should give her a solid mental edge. The most recent match between the players came last year in Canada and Paolini edged a tight first set before pulling away and there is a feeling that something similar may happen in this Semi Final.

There will be tension in the air considering how much is on the line, but Jasmine Paolini's confidence is at a super-high level right now and that is important. We saw moments in the Quarter Final win over Lulu Sun that Donna Vekic is still prone to feeling that pressure and Paolini's recent French Open run might just stand her in good stead as she looks to make it through to back to back Grand Slam Finals.

Barbora Krejcikova + 4.5 games v Elena Rybakina: The two previous meetings have both ended in Barbora Krejcikova wins over Elena Rybakina, so that will help, but it is still a big ask to beat the 2022 Wimbledon Champion on Centre Court in the 2024 Semi Finals.

She snapped a losing run to get the better of Jelena Ostapenko in the Quarter Final and Barbora Krejcikova was able to serve very efficiently. This has been an aspect of her tennis that has improved after the struggles of the first couple of Rounds and it is vital for the former French Open Champion to make sure she looks after this side of her game.

In the first two Rounds, Barbora Krejcikova was winning fewer than 60% of her service points and she was very fortunate to get through those two matches.

Since then, Krejcikova has won at least 70% of her service points in each of the three matches played at Wimbledon and she has faced just eight Break Points in those three wins compared with twenty-two in the first two matches combined.

Serving well is one thing, but keeping Elena Rybakina on the back-foot is key.

We have seen the former Champion growing in matches as she has been allowed to really push through her groundstrokes on the return and Elena Rybakina has been freed up by her own big serve.

Trying to get enough of those serves back into play will be a significant challenge for Barbora Krejcikova who did have some struggles getting into the Jelena Ostapenko games in the Quarter Final. Unlike the Latvian, Elena Rybakina is not as wasteful with some of her rally balls and will not give away some of the games in a manner that Ostapenko can be prone to do.

Elena Rybakina is really looking after her serve in this tournament and that is why she is a clear favourite to win the Wimbledon title for a second time in three years. Even in the two losses to this opponent, Elena Rybakina has not had too many issues when it comes to the serve and that is likely going to be key for her again.

There is also the additional factor of Barbora Krejcikova playing in the Ladies Doubles this week as well as the Singles, and that has meant playing twice on Wednesday, just twenty-four hours before this big Semi Final.

We do know that Barbora Krejcikova is used to playing both Singles and Doubles in a Grand Slam tournament so it should not be a major problem, but this is already a tough match for her. It would be a surprise if Krejcikova is able to go all the way and earn the upset, but she should be competitive enough and the Czech player is perhaps being a little underrated in this Semi Final.

MY PICKS: Jasmine Paolini - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Barbora Krejcikova + 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Wimbledon Update: 18-19, - 6.62 Units (74 Units Staked, - 8.95% Yield)

Wimbledon Tennis Day 10 Picks 2024 (Wednesday 10th July)

The tournament might have been affected by the ridiculous amount of rain that has been around in London over the last couple of weeks, but at least the Singles events are right on schedule.

The roof may not be needed on either show court on Day 10 of Wimbledon when the rest of the Semi Finalists are confirmed.

Taylor Fritz - 4.5 games v Lorenzo Musetti: There is a big opportunity for both Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti on Day 10 of The Championships as they bid to reach a maiden Grand Slam Semi Final.

It was supposed to be a quarter of the draw where the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev would have made a big impact, but both were upset early on in the tournament.

Take nothing away from Lorenzo Musetti and Taylor Fritz, especially not the latter who came from two sets down to beat a top four player in Alexander Zverev in the Fourth Round on Monday, but you can also make a strong guess at the fact that both players in this Quarter Final are very comfortable with the match up presented to them.

The two players both enjoyed strong grass court tournaments in the build up to Wimbledon, which means both Musetti and Fritz should be playing with a lot of confidence on the surface. The former was a beaten Finalist at Queen's Club, while Taylor Fritz won the Eastbourne title and has now won eight matches in success on the grass.

Taylor Fritz looks to be the more battle-hardened of the two players having secured two top 20 wins already at Wimbledon and both against solid opponents. On the other side of the net, Lorenzo Musetti's best win in SW19 is against the current World Number 37 and the way he was handled by Tommy Paul in the Queen's Final will certainly be something that Fritz will have noted.

A couple of years ago, Taylor Fritz was able to beat Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets at Wimbledon and you have to give the American a big edge on the serve. Throughout this run, Fritz has really put opponents under significant pressure thanks to his serving numbers and this match is likely going to be placed on Court One, which is the quicker of the two show case courts.

It should further enable Fritz to rattle through some of his service games and keep the pressure on Lorenzo Musetti, despite the fact the Italian has been serving well in the last three matches. His win over a big server in the Fourth Round will have given Musetti plenty of belief ahead of the Quarter Final, even if Taylor Fritz is an all around superior player to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

The grass court defeats to Matteo Berrettini and Tommy Paul last month are perhaps more of an indicator as to how this match may develop.

Lorenzo Musetti did win his last match against Taylor Fritz, but that was on a clay court and the faster surfaces should really give the American a significant edge.

The line is not an easy one to cover if Lorenzo Musetti is playing his best, but you have to believe the Taylor Fritz serve may just force a couple of capitulations thanks to scoreboard pressure and that will see the World Number 12 move through.

Taylor Fritz has played in three previous Grand Slam Quarter Finals, including one at Wimbledon, and that experience edge may also help in an event where he looks to be playing the superior tennis compared with his opponent.

Novak Djokovic - 4.5 games v Alex De Minaur: There are still a number of the grass court title winners playing in the Men's draw at Wimbledon this week, even as we move into the Quarter Final Round.

Those players will have a lot of confidence and belief in their tennis having also won four matches at Wimbledon and one of those is Alex De Minaur who has somewhat flown under the radar. That may have something to do with benefiting from a walkover in the Third Round, but a title winner on the grass courts of Hertogenbosch will be given plenty of respect.

The home fans may want to get behind him anyway seeing as De Minaur is in a relatively high-profile relationship with British women's number one Katie Boulter, although the crowd may be a little more aware of how they made sound to seven time Champion Novak Djokovic.

After cruising past Holger 'RUUUUUUNE' in the Fourth Round, Novak Djokovic's on-court interview suggested that the fans were perhaps happier to use this as cheer for his opponent as an opportunity to boo him. There were some tense exchanges and it is perhaps clear that Novak Djokovic continues to feel underappreciated despite moving past both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the all-time Grand Slam Winners list.

Once again it is likely to be his opponent who receives more of the support with his connections to British Tennis, but Djokovic might just come out with a bit more fire, which is when he plays his best tennis.

As mentioned before the tournament began, Novak Djokovic is still one of the top grass court players in the world if he is healthy and the four wins here suggests he is capable of going all the way for an eighth time in SW19.

He is a favourite in this Quarter Final, but Novak Djokovic will know that it could be tougher to shorten the points as he has been trying to do all week. The defensive skills of Alex De Minaur makes him dangerous, although the Australian has a vulnerable serve and that is where the former World Number 1 can really come into his own.

Alex De Minaur has reached a career best World Number 7 and he is on course to actually break new ground at the end of this tournament. However, his lack of Grand Slam experience could be an issue with this being his third ever Quarter Final at this level compared with Novak Djokovic who has made it through to his fifteenth Wimbledon Quarter Final alone.

The key to this Quarter Final is the way that Novak Djokovic is serving and the feeling is that he is going to earn a few cheaper games than his opponent.

There are positives for Alex De Minaur to take away from his grass court successes this summer, but the serve is a bit more vulnerable and Novak Djokovic may just be able to find a way to cover even in a match where he may drop another set.

Jelena Ostapenko - 2.5 games v Barbora Krejcikova: After barely having any main draw Grand Slam experience as a Singles player, Barbora Krejcikova surprisingly won the French Open in 2021 and followed up with three decent runs at the next three Grand Slams played.

At the end of the Australian Open in 2022, Barbora Krejcikova had reached World Number 2, but it has been a tough time for her since then and she was fortunate to earn a Seeding for Wimbledon.

Twelve months ago, the Czech player arrived here just outside the top 10 of the World Rankings and that should underline how difficult the last twelve months have been for a player now down at World Number 32. Her four wins at Wimbledon will be a huge boost though and another win or two would see Barbora Krejcikova move back into the top 20, while also alleviating any fears of falling out of the Seeding positions for the US Open.

She did reach the Australian Open Quarter Final earlier this season, but Barbora Krejcikova had failed to progress beyond the Second Round in four of her previous five Grand Slams before her surprising run under the radar here at Wimbledon. With top names falling all around, there may be a feeling in the Krejcikova camp that she has the tennis to secure a second upset Grand Slam title.

Performances early in the draw at Wimbledon were not very impressive, but Krejcikova looks to have improved her level in the last couple of matches. One of those was against an injured opponent so cannot be given the same respect as the one in the Fourth Round when the Czech player got the better of Danielle Collins.

Next up is a former Wimbledon Juniors Champion in Jelena Ostapenko who also had limited Grand Slam experience before surprisingly surging to the French Open title in 2017. She is still only 27 years old, but Ostapenko has not had the kind of impact as a Singles player that was threatened with that run to the French Open title as a teenager.

She did reach the Wimbledon Semi Final in 2018 before losing to eventual Champion Angelique Kerber, but Jelena Ostapenko was not able to progress past the Fourth Round of any Grand Slam until Melboune in January 2023. Later in the year she reached the Quarter Final at the US Open too, so recent experiences may just settle the Latvian who will go for all of her shots without any hestitation.

After a pretty poor grass court campaign over the last month, Jelena Ostapenko has blitzed the competition at Wimbledon and is playing about as well as anyone left in the draw. Not only has she yet to drop a set, but no player has managed to win more than three games in any of the sets played and Jelena Ostapenko's numbers are very impressive.

With three wins in a row over Barbora Krejcikova behind her, including beating her in the Birmingham Final on a grass court last year, Jelena Ostapenko has to be feeling confident about her tennis. She is a player that will go for big shots, which can lead to a host of errors, but the serve has been working well and an aggressive return might keep her fellow former French Open Champion under the cosh.

It has been an easy tournament for Jelena Ostapenko so far, but that is rarely the case for her over stretches of periods- however, the Latvian is playing with a real sense of belief and expectation that can see her progress and cover this handicap mark set by the layers.

Elena Rybakina - 3.5 games v Elina Svitolina: After winning her Fourth Round match due to Anna Kalinskaya being forced to retire, Elena Rybakina was asked if she is feeling any additional pressure as the highest Seed left in the Wimbledon Ladies tournament and as a former Champion here.

The World Number 4 made it clear that she is not thinking about anything but the next match and that has to be the right approach with matches still to be won on the grass and not on paper.

Arguably this is the toughest match that Elena Rybakina could face out of the players remaining in the last eight of the draw and Elina Svitolina showed twelve months ago how good she can be on the grass courts of SW19.

Added motivation is there to give her compatriots something to cheer them up as Ukraine continues to deal with the Russian offensive in a war that has lasted well over two years already. Elina Svitolina wore a black ribbon in support of those affected by a major Russian strike on the eve of her Fourth Round match and the World Number 21 has admitted that she is finding it tough to focus on her tennis.

Despite that, Elina Svitolina is performing at a high level when she is on the court and she has been serving very effectively, which makes things all the easier on the grass. Three of the four wins have been against opponents that Svitolina would have expected to beat, but the victory over Ons Jabeur in the Third Round is very impressive, especially in the manner that win was put together.

Beating a two time Runner Up is one thing, but beating a former Wimbledon Champion is another and that is the challenge that Elina Svitolina will be facing in this Quarter Final. When the two players met at the French Open, you may have thought the surface would have aided Svitolina, but it was Elena Rybakina who came through with a strong win and is now on a much more favoured court.

Neither player can point to a deep grass court run in preparation for Wimbledon, but the level within the tournament has to be respected.

Elena Rybakina has certainly enjoyed the benefit of being a top four Seed with the way the draw has panned out for her and so there is some concern that she is not going to be ready for a big step up in class. Being familiar with the Elina Svitolina game will help, but Rybakina will know that she will need to serve well and avoid a rash of unforced errors if she is going to edge past this opponent.

The competition level has to be considered, but even then the 2022 Wimbledon Champion has played really well in working her way through the tournament.

Elina Svitolina will offer resistance, but she was pretty well beaten in her Semi Final here last season and the World Number 4 might just wear her down with big serving and aggressive groundstrokes through the course of this Quarter Final.

MY PICKS: Taylor Fritz - 4.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Novak Djokovic - 4.5 Games @ 1.75 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Jelena Ostapenko - 2.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Elena Rybakina - 3.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Wimbledon Update: 17-17, - 3.94 Units (68 Units Staked, - 5.79% Yield)

Wimbledon Tennis Day 9 Picks 2024 (Tuesday 9th July)

The fortune of being at Wimbledon on Day 8 of The Championships means this thread is out a little later than hoped, although well before the Quarter Finals are to begin.

Jannik Sinner-Daniil Medvedev over 38.5 games: The two 2024 Men's Grand Slam winners are on course for another huge meeting at a major, but both have tough Quarter Final matches to negotiate on Tuesday.

It is the World Number 1 and top Seed who will be given the opportunity to play on Centre Court, but Jannik Sinner is going to be well aware of the test he is facing when going up against Daniil Medvedev.

The Italian needed to come from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open Final earlier this year and that does mean he has beaten this opponent five times in a row since losing the first six pro matches against the World Number 5.

In the main, Jannik Sinner has been the superior player in those wins, but he has rarely had things as easy as he did when losing just three games against Daniil Medvedev at the Miami Masters in March. Three of the other four wins have all been in matches which have needed to go the distance, while the exception in that time was a match won by Sinner in straight sets and both being in tie-breakers.

Both of these players have been serving very well this week and that is likely going to be very important to the final outcome of this Quarter Final.

Unsurprisingly the two players have both had some issues on the return of serve on this surface and the feeling is that both Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev will be looking to get on the front foot behind strong serving.

Jannik Sinner has the edge when it comes to the head to head in recent meetings with the Italian holding 89% of his service games compared with Daniil Medvedev's 79% mark and he will have the mental edge having gotten the better of this opponent as often as he has over the last several months.

The layers are expecting the top Seed to progress in straight sets, but Daniil Medvedev is playing well enough to give Jannik Sinner something to think about. Despite the losses piling up against this opponent, Medvedev has found a way to win sets and he can at least help combine for enough games to surpass this total games line set.

Carlos Alcaraz-Tommy Paul over 38.5 games: The defending Champion has not looked himself in the last couple of Rounds, but Carlos Alcaraz is one of the top players in the world and the layers do not want to take too many risks in opposing him.

That means the Spaniard is a pretty strong favourite to beat Tommy Paul in the Wimbledon Quarter Final, even if the latter won at Queen's Club and looks to be getting stronger and stronger.

You do have to take into account the fact that Tommy Paul has enjoyed a decent draw to work his way into the last eight, but respect has to be given for the way he has won his last couple of matches. The win over Alexander Bublik is perhaps most impressive in the Third Round and Tommy Paul continues to serve at a very high level on the grass courts.

He is going to need to bring more of the same onto the court in this Quarter Final as he looks to beat Carlos Alcaraz and reach the second Grand Slam Semi Final in his own career.

Tommy Paul has to be playing with plenty of confidence having last been seen winning at Queen's Club before the four wins under his belt at Wimbledon. The American has won at least 70% of service points played in each of those wins and Tommy Paul has to be encouraged by the fact that Carlos Alcaraz has looked a little unsure of his own returning game in the last couple of Rounds.

It has put some pressure on Alcaraz, although the defending Champion has the resiliency to come through the tough moments.

He struggled in the Fourth Round win over Ugo Humbert and Carlos Alcaraz could really find this Quarter Final a struggle if he is not able to pick up his level.

That has been seen in previous matches against Tommy Paul with both players beating the other twice with all four matches being played on a hard court. The numbers are remarkably similar for both Paul and Carlos Alcaraz and this may be another match that is competitive and perhaps needing at least four sets to decide a winner.

There is every chance that Tommy Paul could earn the upset in this match, but the better approach looks to be backing this one to go longer than the layers think.

MY PICKS: Jannik Sinner-Daniil Medvedev Over 38.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Carlos Alcaraz-Tommy Paul Over 38.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet365 (2 Units)

Emma Navarro - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Wimbledon Update: 16-15, - 1.76 Units (62 Units Staked, - 2.84% Yield)